Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 19 June 2007

House of Commons Commission

Departments: Information and Communications Technology

Mr. Philip Hammond:
To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether the House has in place arrangements for the ethical disposal of surplus IT equipment. [143550]

Nick Harvey:
The House of Commons uses a specialist commercial company for the disposal of all Members centrally provided and House of Commons Administration IT equipment.

The company is used by a number of other Government agencies and all personnel with access to parliamentary equipment are security cleared.

Equipment is securely cleaned of all data and data destruction certificates issued once this has been completed. Equipment is then evaluated as to its resale potential; where possible it is sold on to second level users with the original manufacturers operating system and no other software. Proceeds from the sale of equipment are returned to Parliament. Equipment with no resale value is disposed of in line with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. This involves breaking down the equipment into its base materials for reuse with only completely un-recyclable materials being sent to landfill.

Portcullis House

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what assessment has been made of environmental factors affecting thermal comfort as defined in British Standard BS EN ISO 7730 in Portcullis house; whether any survey has been made of thermal comfort of workers in Portcullis house; whether any workplace temperature risk assessment has been undertaken with regard to Portcullis house; what the maximum operating capacity of the air conditioning unit at Portcullis house is; and if he will make a statement. [142331]

Nick Harvey:
I am well aware of this issue and know that there have been a number of complaints about temperature control in the building. The Serjeant at Arms has directed his staff to investigate and to take the appropriate remedial actions. He will write to the hon. Lady when the issues involved are clear.

Parliamentary Works Services Directorate staff monitor the environmental conditions and systems in Portcullis house using the computerised building management system. As a result they are aware that since Easter the temperature has not been controlled as 19 Jun 2007 : Column 1590W
well as it should have been. An investigation of the cooling system has revealed a number of small faults. The majority of these have now been rectified and work is in hand to address the remainder as quickly as possible.

I understand that no survey of the thermal comfort of workers in Portcullis house has been undertaken. Nor has a workplace temperature risk assessment been carried out.

Northern Ireland

Crime

Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many responses his Department received to the consultation document Making Sure that Crime Doesn't Pay; which organisations responded; and if he will place copies of those representations in the Library. [131283]

Maria Eagle:
The Northern Ireland Office received responses from:

the Superintendents Association of Northern Ireland;

the Periodical Publishers Association of Ireland; and

the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

I have made arrangements for these to be placed in the Library.

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Mrs. Spelman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 19 February 2007, Official Report, column 565W, on the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, when the copy of the presentation will be placed in the Library. [142399]

Mr. Hain:
This has now been placed in the Library.

Wales

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of staff in his Department are (a) male, (b) female, (c) registered disabled and (d) aged 55 or over. [143922]

Mr. Hain:
The percentages for the staff of the Wales Office is as follows:

(a) 49 per cent. of the staff are male

(b) 51 per cent. of the staff are female

(c) 12 per cent. of staff are aged 55 or over

The Wales Office has a small number of staff with disabilities. For privacy reasons the numbers are confidential, in line with guidance issued by the Cabinet Office, which states that Departments are not required to provide figures on the number of disabled staff where it is less than five in the department.

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Departments: Pay

Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in 2006-07; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if he will make a statement. [143096]

Mr. Hain:
In the last financial year three members of staff have received bonuses, representing 5 per cent. of the workforce. All of the bonuses together came to £862.30 before tax, and the largest single payment was £362.30.

International Development

Departments: Publications

Mr. Hoban:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many publications produced by his Department and funded by the public purse have been (a) provided at no cost and (b) sold to the Labour Party or Parliamentary Labour Party Office in the last 12 months. [141264]

Mr. Thomas:
Following are the publications produced by DFID that have been provided directly to the Parliamentary Labour Party Office in the last 12 months. All of these publications are available free of charge (and indeed copies have been requested by representatives of other parties).

Publication

Quantity

G8 Gleneagles: One year on turning talk into action

500

Eliminating World Poverty White Paper III popular version

840

The World ClassroomDeveloping Global Partnerships

250

These figures are total figures for orders sent directly to the Parliamentary Labour Party Office through DFID's mailing house contractor in the last 12 months. These may not reflect the total number of publications sent out, as it is not possible to establish the number of publications posted by DFID staff in response to individual requests. DFID has not sent any publications to the Labour Party via its mailing house contractor in the last 12 months, and it is not possible to establish the number of publications posted by DFID staff in response to individual requests.

Any publications produced in the last 12 months that have been priced are classified as Command, or House of Commons, papers. These publications are available to be purchased from The Stationery Office (TSO) under a Government-wide agreement. DFID would have no record of who had purchased these items via this route. DFID does not itself sell these publications.

Departments: Sick Leave

Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what average number of days per year was taken by staff in his Department as sick leave in each of the last five years for which records are available. [143110]

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Mr. Thomas:
For the years 2001-05 (the latest for which figures are available) the average working days per employee lost to sick leave for DFID are:

Days

2001

6.0

2002

8.0

2003

7.0

2004

4.8

2005

5.7

Departments: Sign Language

Kerry McCarthy:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the merits of providing British Sign Language (BSL) videos on his departmental website for the benefit of those whose first language is BSL. [142496]

Mr. Thomas:
DFID does not currently have any video material on its website. An exercise is under way to assess the technical facilities and procedures needed to create and deliver video effectively, and the use of BSL videos will be considered as part of this work. DFID aims to make its website as accessible as possible, and an independent review of the site recently gave it a high rating for accessibility. The internal Intranet does include video material, and DFID has a policy that this material should have a written transcript, subtitles or a BSL interpreter.

Developing Countries: Energy

Mr. Andrew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department provided to developing countries for (a) the development of industry to extract fossil fuels and (b) the development of local renewable energy sources in each of the last five years. [142893]

Mr. Thomas:
Improved access to reliable affordable energy supplies and services is essential for the achievement of international development goals. In the energy sector, DFID engages primarily through our international partners and international financial institutions.

DFID has been actively engaged with the EU Energy Initiative for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development (EUEI) since it was launched in 2002. We contribute to the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme, which is managed by the World Bank on behalf of the donors. DFID is also working closely with the World Bank and regional development banks on the new Clean Energy Investment Framework. DFID is also currently developing a new £800 million Environmental Transformation Fund that will finance environmental projects, including clean energy. In 2007 DFID launched a five-year Energy Research Programme that will include the application of renewable energy, building on earlier DFID funded work on renewable energy technologies.

DFID has not provided any bilateral funding to developing countries during the last five years for the development of industry to extract fossil fuels or for the development of local renewable energy sources.

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Developing Countries: Fossil Fuels

Mr. Andrew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what analysis his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated of the impact on the welfare of people in developing countries of fossil fuel extraction in those countries. [142894]

Mr. Thomas:
DFIDs primary involvement with fossil fuel extraction projects in developing countries is an indirect one, as a shareholder in multilateral financial institutions, such as the World Bank group and the Regional Development Banks, which invest in projects in this sector.

However, DFID reviews how the effects of fossil fuels extraction are managed as part of a commitment to sustainable development and attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

DFID has supported non-governmental organisations in the analysis of the impacts of extractive industries, including fossil fuels. For example, work on the Democratic Republic of Congo looked at natural resource governance. DFID also takes note of the many studies about opportunities and effects of extractive industries, including work by Transparency International, the Publish What You Pay campaign and the Resource Endowment Study of the International Council on Mining and Metals.

DFID was actively engaged in the Extractive Industries Review and the International Finance Corporations review of its environmental and social safeguards policies and procedures. These safeguards are a key tool to ensure the prudent management of the exploitation of natural resources in developing countries. This includes the impact on welfare of people in those developing countries.

DFID has provided support to countries wishing to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). This initiative supports improved governance in resource-rich countries through full publication of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas, and mining. EITI enables non-governmental organisations to participate in the process and work with government and companies to ensure that revenues from extractive industries are fully disclosed.

Developing Countries: Renewable Energy

Mr. Andrew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has for future aid allocations aimed at developing the use of local renewable energy in developing countries. [142892]

Mr. Thomas:
DFID is committed to increasing access to reliable and affordable energy to reduce poverty and increase economic growth in developing countries. Renewable energy has an increasingly important role to play in helping developing countries make progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.

In terms of future aid allocations, we expect deployment of clean energy investment to happen not through DFIDs bilateral aid allocations, but through a big change in the way the multilateral agencies engage in the energy sector. We are encouraging the World Bank and regional development banks to give renewable energy greater attention.

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For example, the World Bank has scaled up its financial support for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. In August 2006, it announced a rise to $680 million in commitments in the year to June 2006, an increase of 48 per cent. compared to the previous year. This figure excludes large hydropower projects and covers solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and small (less than 10 MW) hydropower technologies.

We very much welcome this increased investment by the World Bank on clean energy. We now think that the bank needs to set out a high level of ambition for funds flowing through the Clean Energy Investment Framework over the coming years. At the recent spring meetings of the World Bank the UK called on the bank to set a range of new investment and outcome targets, including a higher target for renewable energy.

As announced in the 2007 Budget Statement, a new £800 million Environmental Transformation Fund will finance environmental projects, including clean energy.

DFID has supported the creation of a new €220 million EU African, Caribbean and Pacific Energy Facility, which will start funding projects this year from the European Development Fund. This facility aims to improve access to energy, especially in rural areas of Africa, and has encouraged viable renewable energy proposals.

Finally, DFID is increasing research funding for the energy sector to reflect the growing interest in clean energy for development. This year DFID launched a new five year, £3.75 million energy research programme on renewable energy and is currently scoping areas for further work.

Overseas Aid: Climate Change

Mr. Andrew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what analysis he has undertaken of the impact of his Departments aid policies and programmes on climate change. [142891]

Mr. Thomas:
The 2006 DFID White Paper recognises that climate change poses the most serious long-term threat to development and poverty reduction. We are working to implement our White Paper commitments on three main fronts: work for a global agreement, including helping developing countries prepare for international negotiations; assisting developing countries to adopt clean energy technologies; and helping developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.

We assess how well these policies are being implemented through our standard organisational systems. For example, the Departments internal Development Committee regularly assesses how well the Departments policies are being rolled out.

We are considering the changes that will be necessary to how we deliver programmes as a result of climate change. For example we are planning to have procedures in place by 2008 to identify and manage risks associated with climate variability. We have also committed to mainstreaming climate into DFID development activities in climate sensitive sectors, such as agriculture, water, health infrastructure and energy, by 2008, to help developing countries adopt low carbon energy and adapt.